The Price of Freedom
by melWinter
Summary: Continuation of He Needed Me... A plot to enslave the future of humankind could rip apart the fabric of reality. Are Rose, the Doctor, and Torchwood up to the challege? What does John Hart and Scholar have to do with anything?
1. Prologue

Prologue

Space was a cold, dark, lonely place. From the point of view of a planet, it could be lonely or beautiful. There was a general feel of perspective. Of being blanketed by a twinkling skyline but there was still a feel of the ground beneath your feet. The warmth of the waning sun as darkness descended. From the insides of a lonely spacecraft it was a much different feel, like a coffin under water more than anything.

In a tiny ship barely designed for three people, space would look very lonely indeed. The unmanned craft was currently in a solar system about 2 light years from earth. Yet this particular ship, hovering in the dead of space, though empty wasn't abandoned. Indeed this little ship, having proved herself resilient after 75 years worth of use, was about to be put to the test. The console was blinking at periodic intervals, showing an alien countdown. At zero the computer was programed to open a sliver of continuum and pull a very special man through the fabric of reality. Seconds, minutes, hours ticked away. All up until that all important zero.

There was a bright flash of soundless turmoil as the air rippled and shifted before one by one unconscious beings materialized onto the ship's floor. Then the light faded and the machinery quieted with a last spark before circuits fused beyond repair. The old ship would never be able to repeat the procedure and all that was left was the slowly failing ship and four unconscious humans.

Blue eyes squinted, head pounding as the owner slowly shifted onto his side. Coughing and sputtering for air, he struggled onto hands and knees to catch his breath. What the hell was that? Just a night off. Just one, that's all he wanted. Take what was left of his crew and Gwen's husband for a bit of a breather. He should have known better, really. He chuckled softly and grinned to himself. No rest for the wicked.

"Jack?" That was Gwen Cooper's rasping voice. One of the last surviving members of his Torchwood team. Sitting up slowly, still gasping for air, Jack looked to his left to see Gwen on her back, eyes wide as she gasped and clutched a hand to her chest. Her husband Rhys was at her side, still unconscious. Looking to his right, he relaxed a fraction to see Ianto Jones, his current lover, also unconscious. She closed her eyes for just a moment before rubbing at her head, "Any idea what hit us?"

Captain Jack Harkness, the leader of Torchwood and for all intents immortal, tried to give her a half grin but he was as unsure of himself as she was. In the end he managed a quasi grin as he ungracefully pulled himself into a half sit, "...a Sleveen maybe...and trust me, it hurts." Wincing and grabbing at his throbbing temples, "I didn't even get to enjoy being drunk first.

Ianto mumbled into the floor, "That's a first..."

With a loud groan that woke Rhys Williams, Jack managed to half hobble to his feet, walking unsteadily for the nearest window and at the moment not caring about his grace while doing it. His whole body felt taxed and it was strange. Not too many teleports will do that to a person. Gwen slowly dragged herself to her husband and checked him over, doing the same to Ianto while Jack continued to silently stare through the window. A full 90 seconds without a word from their leader concerned her, "Jack?"

The Captain swallowed before turning, slowly recovering as he leaned back against the wall, "There's no way out."

Gwen frowned and pulled herself to her feet, her police training thrumming through her. Take charge. Assess the situation. Panic later, "Jack, unless they've buried us under the ocean there's always a...way..." She watched with a gaping mouth as a chunk of asteroid slowly passed by the window, nothing but the black expanse of starlit space in the background, "Okay...this might be a problem."

She sent him a questioning look and he nodded, "It's the real thing."

Shaking her head, hand halfway to her mouth, "It...can't...be..."

Nodding, "It is."

"But-..."

Firmly gripping her shoulder, "Gwen. Breathe." On automatic she pulled in a breath, not even realizing she'd been holding her breath. Keeping his voice firm yet reassuring, rubbing his finger along her tense muscles where he held her and grinning, "We're in outer space so, first I'll go see what kind of ship we're in. I want you to keep an eye on Rhys, alright?"

Blinking with large eyes, "Right. Rhys. And who's keeping an eye on me?"

She tried to smile, but he could easily see her growing panic. Relaxing and nodding, "I will get us out of this."

She took one more deep breath before letting it out slowly, "Right." Now with a purpose, she walked back to her husband while Jack turned to hide his grimace as he started searching for clues.

* * *

"Masipolibus!"

Glancing at him by the corner of her eye, "Bless you."

The Doctor pouted subtly before giving Rose a correcting look and shooing a hand at her, "You've played that line more than once now move along...and that wasn't a sneeze."

Sticking her tongue in her cheek, shifted her weight slightly. Okay, yeah, she'd said it before but it wasn't like he wasn't up to repeating a tease...over, and over, and over, "Really now? And how many times have you pulled Fantastic. Brilliant-..."

Stomping his white converse wearing foot, "It's not nearly the same thing. Consistent. I need to be a little bit consistent." Waving a hand at her again, "You're just using the same joke over and over again."

Carefully crossing her arms, "Boring you, am I?"

This could be trouble. Clearing his throat, "Um...no?"

Snorting to herself, "Coulda fooled me." She sighed softly to herself, looking down at her enormous belly, "Ever since I got fat-..."

He jumped, "Oh no you don't. No." He stomped his foot again for emphasis, "This is one of those female trap things where you complain about your weight and no matter what us poor males do you get mad at us. Nuh uh, nope, not playing."

She batted her eyes at him pitifully. He turned his head to not look at her. She huffed, "Doctor, all I'm sayin' is-..."

Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his brown pin-striped suit, he leaned back against the console before he crossed his arms over his chest, "I'll not say another word about it."

He made a silent locking key motion over his lips before chucking the imaginary key over his shoulder. Face set, arms crossing again, he stayed absolutely still and just stared at the TARDIS doors. Rose slowly grinned, raising an eyebrow as she watched his foot start to tap in hyper agitation before his knee started to bounce. Not too much longer and he was subtly squirming in place a second before he sent her a look with large, pleading eyes. On principle he couldn't yield but he desperately needed to move. And she caved every time from that look, "Oh... alright. Sorry. Not another word."

With a grin he dove for the imaginary key, making Rose laugh as he unlocked his lips to speak, "Right. So, we have ourselves the 52nd Century, a nice little holiday planet where fun and relaxation are on the agenda. He'd sidled up to her at this point, rubbing a hand over the very generous mound that was her stomach. Just three weeks left and she was very thankful. Right about now she felt like a waddling duck and his repeated almost but not quite snickering about the fact that she waddled wasn't helping her opinion of the matter. Relaxation was good. She could use that. Not that they'd been much of anywhere lately but she was not going to pass up pampering when it was being offered without solicitation. Especially since they'd be heading for her mum soon for however long it would take to have the baby, then several weeks or so afterward until the tyke would be flight worthy, as the Doctor put it. She was fairly certain that little stop wouldn't be relaxing. She leaned back against him with a contended sigh and he lightly nuzzled her temple, "Shall we?"

Nodding, "Let's."

He grinned and retrieved both his brown coat and her pink hoodie, helping her into her=s before throwing his over his shoulders. And he stuck to her side like glue, one hand on her back to steer her down the ramp, constantly on the lookout for anything that might cause her to lose her balance. Last stage of pregnancy had seen a new surge to his protective streak, not dangerous like last time so much as a constant need to hover. But she put up with it since he wasn't intentionally being irritating, it was just natural for him. And it was nice that he would bound away from her at the slightest indication that she wanted something, retrieving it as quickly as possible to please her.

They both stepped out the TARDIS' doors, the Doctor shutting them while Rose just stared at the beauty around her. It was like being transported back to ancient Rome. The buildings were single story stone structures and surrounded them on all sides. Under her feet, a sort of smooth stone and white as the buildings' stone was made of. Instead of doors there were lightly flapping strips of silk. The people were for the most part deeply tanned, skinny, and dressed in airy, colorful costumes of fabric that flowed about them like togas and wore golden sandals on their feet.

She glanced down her profile and grimaced, "I feel fat."

He made a scoffing noise, ANah...just room there for two is all. She sent him a glare while he just started steering, oblivious to the glare, "So...we'll get you tucked into a massage and I'll hunt around for some tea."

Pouting at him, "I want a coke."

Jerking his head to avoid her and the dreaded pout, "Nope. No caffeine. None."

Whining softly, "Doctor..."

He immediately plugged his ears and stepped slightly away from her, "Nuh uh."

She sighed softly, defeated but knowing that was one desire he wasn't going to indulge. About the only one but a girl can dream. Snuggling against him, "Can I have chocolate, then?"

And immediately he was attentive once more. He refused to give her sodas but apparently he would never deny her chocolate. Weird man since caffeine was caffeine in her opinion, "Course you can, what would you like?"

Shrugging, smiling again, "Anything chocolate." Suddenly pointing a finger at his nose, remembering the moon with the auction that wasn't a game show, "And none of this quasi chocolate stuff. Real, proper chocolate or else get TARDIS to give me some."

The Doctor shuddered just a little. The TARDIS refused to ever, ever create chocolate again. In this case it was his fault since he'd consumed over half of it before giving what was left to Rose. Rose had just sighed through the hours of his hyper state, quite literally bouncing off the walls. His attempts to be helpful by trying to tinker had left many of the time ship's circuit either fused incorrectly or rewired into a twisted mess. Rose had tried to keep him occupied away from the console but since his sugar high had lasted through two naps he'd escaped. TARDIS had blistered his ears, telepathically anyway, bombarding him with her annoyance for hours afterward.

Giving her a solemn look since it was his fault TARDIS no longer gave her chocolate, "I'll find some." The pair of them grinned at one another before he escorted her to a building with a water fountain in front of it. He'd signed her in and soon she was blissfully relaxing in a bath of lovely smells and warm water, the machine pulsing a gentle massage into her back. The staff checked on her at regular intervals, offering refreshments and moved her on to a massage on her side, her ample stomach hidden under a towel. And the last thing that she remembered before she drifted off into a doze were the strangely panicked expressions her massage therapist was trying to hide.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Rhys looked about halfway to having a stroke, running his fingers repeatedly through his short dark blond hair as he sat on the floor of the spaceship. Spaceship? He couldn't handle this. This was a little bit too far past reality for him to grasp. He could handle aliens mucking about on Earth, getting sold as meat or even attacking the city and whatever. He could handle that his wife worked for an agency that kept those aliens from hurting anybody. He could even accept that every so often he'd be dragged into the middle of it. But actually leaving Earth and hurled about in a spaceship, who knew where...no. He was having more than a bit of a problem with it.

Right about now he would give just about anything for this all to be some strange nightmare and he was about to wake up in his own comfy bed...any second now. But a flickering light caught his eye, distracting him out of his short-circuiting thoughts. From that light a hazy image started to materialize, "Gwen?"

The Torchwood group were in a huddle, trying to figure out what was going on as Jack pointed to this and that, identifying what he could although some things even he didn't know about and that was a scary thought. Their only possible guide didn't have all the answers, "Nav. Life support. Food dispenser...look I'm just...not familiar with this model but a ship's pretty much a ship. So, we just have to figure out where to go."

Gwen looked at their leader with large eyes, tucking a long strand of dark hair behind her ear, "How about home?"

Nodding, "Sure." Then he gave her a frank look, "But I don't think home's there. Not the home you and I remember."

Ianto frowned slightly, "You're saying...what, exactly?"

Grimacing minutely, taking a look around the ship, "I'm familiar with all sorts of models, the older the better...and some of this tech I've never seen before. I know this ship." Grumbling to himself, "It's really familiar actually..." It was tugging at him. This was a very familiar ship, he just couldn't lock in on the memory. Shaking his head, "...it just looks...upgraded."

Nodding slightly to himself, "So, we're in the future."

Jack grinned at him, knowing he was certainly not slow on the uptake, "I think so. Parts of this ship... anyway I think at minimum we're at the beginning of the 51st Century." Ianto and Gwen glanced at one another with wide eyes.

Whispering softly, "Jack? A strained smile crossed her lips, "Just how dead are we? How are we s'posed to get home?"

He gave her a grim expression, "Working on it. Tapping his wrist strap with his finger, AUnfortunately, unless we can find another time agent we=re temporarily stranded. _Or the Doctor_, he silently thought to himself. But that was rather unlikely. He had the sinking feeling unless it was the end of the world, he might never see the Timelord again. That certainly seemed to be the pattern. The Game Station, then vanish. The Master, then they part ways. Grinning, "But if nothing else we'll look up the Time Agency on Earth. With my incredible good looks I'll throw in my usual persuasive charm..." Ianto and Gwen both rolled their eyes. Mentally he winced, remembering that it had supposedly been shut down.

Gwen gestured around them, "Can't the ship just send us back? After all, it=s what brought us here...right?"

He didn't look any more optimistic, "I wouldn't even know where to begin. Whatever they did, they've done something with the rift I didn't think was possible." It was so much more complicated than he could ever hope to explain. As if jumping across time wasn't tricky enough, whoever did this went a step further. They not only shifted them from the past to the future, but their location moved from Earth to wherever they were now. She frowned at him, "A controlled spike, Gwen. They opened the rift at a precise location at a precise time to pull us through from Earth to here-..."

"Gwen?"

His blue eyes flickered to her husband, noting the strain in his voice, "Go calm Rhys down, okay?" She nodded quickly, wondering who was supposed to calm her down as she walked quickly over to him and knelt next to him.

"It's alright-... Her tone was supposed to be reassuring but it seemed to him more placating than anything. Rhys grit his teeth, grabbed her chin, and jerked her gaze around as the shadowy figure took shape into the image of Captain John Hart. Gwen jumped to her feet, about to speak before pausing to give him a second look over. He looked older. At least ten years older than she remembered him and that was less than two months ago. That and tired. Very tired, AJack!

Jack spun around, eyes widening to see his old partner's image. That's why the ship seemed so familiar. This was John's old rig, passed down from his parents. John's mouth was moving, running restless fingers through his shaggy hair as he spoke soundlessly. Ianto frowned, watching him as well. Jack's eyes strayed over to the wall, flipping a few switches before pressing a glowing button. The image shifted off, then on, and sound was suddenly heard. His image was now that of the John they were familiar with, as young as they remembered him. Dark sable curly locks cut short and blue eyes burning intently, "This is hologram program 35864. If you don't know who I am, get stuffed cause this ship's about to blow up." Rhys made a strangled sound, Gwen slapping a hand over his mouth, "If you do know, then you know what to code in. You've got thirty seconds."

"Jack, that was at least twenty seconds ago!"

"On it." Jack called this out to Ianto over his shoulder, was already punching in a series of codes into the computer. He stepped back, glanced back at the image almost anxiously as a grin spread across the hologram's face.

"Jack." His image flickered and changed, that of the older John, "Good of you to join me." Rhys and Gwen relaxed, Ianto didn't.

Crossing his arms as his spine stiffened, "I had a choice?"

John snickering, "Not that I really gave you a choice, eh?" There were double takes all around and he grinned cheekily, "Sorry, couldn't resist. This isn't an interactive hologram but I'm sure that's what you said, complete with your arms crossed and Cause-I'm-Scary-And-Intimidating stance." Jack looked very put out and Gwen swallowed a giggle. His expression turned quietly serious, "Right, to business then, since I know my humor's lost on you. If I did this right, it wasn't so long since you've seen me last. I know, you probably never wanted to see me again, but desperate times and all that. And, if I calculated the temporal shift narrowly enough it's just you."

Jack took a step, "**You** did it?" John wasn't stupid but the man he'd known hadn't been capable of that level of calculation.

John shrugged to himself, continuing to speak, "Probably not. Gwen, no doubt you're here and I'm sorry in advance. Should know better by now to keep away from him but I'm sure he'll need you." Gwen smiled just a little to herself. A man who tried to kill her. A man who was at least partly responsible for Toshiko and Owen's death...yet there was something slightly redeemable about him. Frankly, she'd always felt conflicted about him, "Eye Candy's here as well I imagine, since you two are joined at the hip. He snickered again while Ianto looked grimly offended. The two of them had never liked one another, mostly over Jack, "Hadn't even intended the pun...that's a bit-... He sighed suddenly, "Sorry. Ramble a bit more than normal. They say it's all part of getting old. He rubbed his face with his hands, "Right. I'll have no idea what year it is, cause quite frankly I'm dictating this while I'm still competent enough to handle flying."

Jack ventured closer, frowning. It wasn't just his age, although his former partner of everything looked years older. He looked wrung out and used up. Normally a wiry man, right now he looked gaunt and his pale skin almost grey, "What happened to you?"

John sighed again, "If you're here and this message is playing, it means you're my only hope...Obi-Wan Kenobi." He snickered just a little to himself, "It's set on a six month cycle. Every six months I delay the program or it activates and brings you here. So, sorry. I'm running out of options, Jack. Runnin' out of time. Wrist straps can't work anymore. No more trips. No more fixing mistakes." He shook his head a bit, leaning back against a hologram of the ship's hull as if the ordeal of standing up was too tiring when he'd recorded this, "The ship will automatically take you to the nearest harbor. They'll be able to tell you what's going on and how you can help. There's a woman goes by the name of Scholar. Seek her out, Jack. She can solve all of this, I just know she can. I've been looking for her for years-..."

The hologram cut off just as the power on the entire ship died. Rhys, who'd been relatively calm even as he clutched Gwen, yelped and scrambled for purchase. Jack went back to the controls, flipped a few switches before shaking his head and disappearing into a maintenance tunnel. A few tense minutes and he was back, power shifting back on. John's image didn't resurface and after a quick check of the controls Jack nodded to himself, "The rest of the data's been corrupted. This ship has just enough power to reach our destination. I say we not waste it." There were nods all around, Gwen pressing her lips to Rhys temple as she held him and Jack flipped a few switches, the ship moving in a spiral pattern.

* * *

Casually the Doctor walked out of the bartering square, coat swinging lightly behind him as he moved with a slight swagger. He'd actually found honest chocolate, which meant Rose would be pleased with him. He grinned to himself, weaving his way through the crowd and proud of himself. He'd already stashed it in one of his bottomless pockets, not wanting to risk losing the small box nor tempt himself into eating it before he could present his prize. And if his internal clock, which he was never telling Rose he had since it was much more fun to leave her exasperated with his tardiness, was anything to go by he had about forty-five minutes left to dawdle as he pleased before her massage was done. He took a sip of the tea he'd found, already sweetened just a little with milk and honey, and sighed softly as the tannins and free radicals worked their magic on him and sorted out his neurol impulses.

He frowned and looked up as a gust of wind took him and others around him by surprise. That didn't feel like a stiff breeze, knocking over a vendor's stand and sending the owner scurrying after his merchandise. It wasn't uncommon for gusts to develop from ships leaving for space but he didn't remember a launching base this close to the market. Several people looked up with fearful expressions though they were quick to hide it. It was possible it was nothing. Possible it was just a random ship that ventured too near but the Doctor had stopped believing in coincidence a long time ago. _Rose?_ He frowned as there was no response. It was possible she'd just fallen asleep. He sped up his walk a fraction, deciding it was time to get back to Rose.

The Doctor paused outside of the massage parlor. Something was wrong. He wasn't sure what it was but he had an inkling. He looked around the streets with a keen eye but nothing was out of the ordinary. As per usual he was ignored until he wanted attention and he took a quick sniff. Nothing strange there. No, wait. Antimatter. Not in form, much too dangerous, just a scent of it in the air. A ship? This close?

Closing his eyes, he submersed himself and mentally followed the bond back to Rose. He physically jolted to realize he couldn't feel her. Eyes open, hardening, he kept his expression carefully casual as he walked into the reception area, cup of tea held in his right hand. There were five people sitting in the lobby, waiting their turn. The receptionist smiled as he walked in, though the smile froze on her lips when she realized who he was. Rose. He moved swiftly past the desk, ignoring her calling out to him and down the long corridor. His anger spiked to see someone else getting a massage in the little room and the attendant studiously avoiding his eyes.

The tea in his hand shattered as his hold on the cup had tightened, making both occupants jump and stare at him, "I'm sorry, sir."

He spun around to see the dejected receptionist, "Sorry?" He shoved his hands into his pockets quick, had to just to keep the instinct from using them at bay.

She didn't jump from his tone, in fact she seemed to welcome his ire. She just eyed her hands with a helplessness that would have made him feel sorry for her for any other reason, AWe couldn't stop them.

His nostrils flared and he bristled with anger, fists tightening and jaw ticking, "Them? Who? Which them? What have they done to my wife?" He took a step towards her, hands inching out of their hiding places, eyes intensely staring into her own.

She trembled under his rather terrifying gaze, "They're monitoring all the planets in the system for human contact."

Frowning, confused and distracted from his initial angered instinct. Masipolibus was one of 8 planets in the system, all belonging to this one race. Since the people came from this planet they called it after the name of their species, "I didn't know Masipolibus had a prejudice against humans."

Shaking her head rapidly, offended, "Oh! No sir, we don't. It's just that...since they've started hunting humans-..."

His eyes narrowed, realizing she wasn't talking about some government conspiracy or radical group within her own culture but another race of alien. His voice dropped an octiv, growing quiet. Intense, "Who?"

Shrugging helplessly, "The Dakelians, of course." The Doctor's thoughts turned inward. Dakelian? He vaguely remembered that race. One of many that shared a neighboring system to his home planet. The entire system had been destroyed along with his people. He'd never imagined they'd survived. At his blank expression she continued, "They'd declared war on the human race, capturing any that come within the systems they control..." But he wasn't hearing her, he was sending his thoughts outward to try to find Rose. Nothing. She wasn't on the planet and he felt another spike of rage. It was different than before, less based on instinct and more on his natural protective nature but it still left him much more volatile than normal. He blinked before grinning to himself, glad he'd given her a silver charm bracelet for her birthday. He'd had the TARDIS put a tiny tracking device on one of the charms, the one that looked like a miniature TARDIS. And since the TARDIS had been the one to create the bracelet, he was sure to make it indestructible so nefarious characters couldn't snatch it from her wrist, "...would have killed us if we'd interfered, I'm sorry."

Blinking once, his mind sorting through what information the confused receptionist had been telling him while he'd been preoccupied. Frowning, "Why are they at war with the human race?"

Shaking her head, "No one knows, sir."

He turned his grin to her, "Don't worry, I'll have it sorted." His expression sharpened, "Why didn't they come after me?"

She shrugged just a little, "You must not be considered human."

Of course he wasn't. These Dakelians may not have done DNA typing but one hint to his double heartbeat would immediately betray his alien-ness to a human. Then another thought occurred to him. He and Rose had been here for almost twenty minutes before her massage, "And you couldn't have warned us?"

She looked down again, "We've tried."

And it was the way she said it that told him how it had ended. People had died. He didn't know how many but apparently the Dakelians didn't take well to human sympathizers. Frowning at her, "What's your name?"

Smiling weakly, "Lynor'a."

"I'm so sorry, Lynor'a." For her people. For his initial blaming of her kind. For a war that she and most probably others were trapped in that had little to do with them. He nodded a silent goodbye and turned on his heels, walking quickly for the TARDIS.

She nodded as he left, deciding she was going to conveniently forget the girl had a traveling companion, "So are we." She wished him luck without words and went back to her duties.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ara'de kept one eye on the sample being evaluated in the DNA extractor while simultaneously reviewing the last series of inoculations. It wouldn't do for their product to have diseases after all. Nor would it do for a potential contagion to be missed on her watch. She took her work very seriously and if she ever hoped to be lead analyst she had to maintain a flawless record. So far, she'd worked her way through the various ships and through the various jobs, jumping ahead of those older and more experienced simply because she was the best at what she did. Genetic inspection. Chromosomal mapping. Bacterial and viral infections. These were all areas she had to perform perfectly. But now she was here. The ship. The hub of their fleet and their civilization. Another five years at most working under the scrutinizing eye of the Commander General and her goal would be achievable.

Hmm, this one might have to be quarantined, just to make sure it didn't infect the other animals. With a beep the extractor shut down and she sighed to herself, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes. She hated this job. She really did. All the justification in the universe didn't make her feel one whit better about this war. But she pushed those thoughts away. This duty was a means to an end. Once she was promoted to lead analyst these humans would be of no consequence to her.

Her lip curled as an unconscious human was placed before her on an examination table, hands and feet manacled. A male, not wearing one of the standard uniforms which in itself was odd, "What is that?" That and he didn't smell right. Like one of those humans that used to emit pheromones a few decades ago before they were wiped out. From her standpoint it was a dreadful odor.

"He's the one found sabotaging the engineering bay. The Commander General wants a full work up on him."

Giving him a questioning look, "The Commander General is keeping him alive?" Odd. The General took no prisoners, unless they were livestock and from what she was seeing, this individual was past his prime and most probably un-useful.

Lip forming a sinister smirk, "This one's an old adversary...other than that, I don't ask questions." Of course not. No one who asked questions lived long. She nodded and set the other techs to getting busy, taking blood and skin samples so she could test them. Once the job was completed she relinquished the human back over to the guards.

With another sigh she rose to her feet and wandered over to the next stack of inoculations. It was more to look busy than anything. Her shift didn't end for another 3 hours and her superiors would frown upon her being idle. As she sorted through the stack her eyes swept over the lab. Two first level technicians, trained only to do their specific tasks, were doing precisely that with quick efficiency.

"We have incoming."

Turning with a slight frown at the technician trying to hand over an electronic chart, "Then send it to processing." She didn't handle incoming. She was in charge of those that were being maintained.

Instead of a reply, a few readings were waved under her nose and her look turned surprised at what she was seeing. It was impossible. It just couldn't be. With a silent gasp Ara'de slid fluidly in front of the computer, pulling up the archives and comparing what was in the database with the initial readings the ship's system took. It was standard, after all, for the ship's computer to keep track of each inhabitant. To do so, it kept a catalogue of the biology, heart rate and such. This pregnant female's readings were most peculiar. Not the girl, the girl was inconsequential but what she was carrying...almost giddy, "Take it down to the engineering level. I want a full evaluation done."

***

Jack occupied the Captain's seat, looking out into space as the little ship traveled along. They were moving rather sluggishly now and he was more than concerned. He had no idea how old this ship was but it had definitely seen better days. The nutreno power cells were almost completely drained and half of the systems no longer worked. Of the two escape pods that came standard, one was hopelessly fused and the other bay was empty, the pod had already been used. He fiddled with the controls, rolling his eyes in disgust when the radio failed to even click on, "Typical planning, Hart..."

Hart planning, which usually consisted of no planning at all. John was well known for throwing himself head first into trouble and foregoing any sort of plan. Even if those were the sorts of plans that worked best for the rogue agent. Though he did have to say he was confused. Why? John was a renegade and loyal only to himself, always motivated by the most base of reasons: greed, lust, self preservation, and power. What would motivate him into dragging Jack across time and space? What mistake was he trying to correct?

He glanced down at his wrist strap, wishing as he often did that it worked. But thanks to the Doctor it was useless, just a decorative reminder to his past. He took another look around, putting his questions concerning John to the back of his mind and did a silent inventory of their situation. Essentially there were no escape pods and without a working radio there was no help coming. Great, "Jack? Anything?"

Flipping a few random buttons just to look busy, "Still working on it, Gwen."

The brunette rolled her eyes to herself, seeing him flip the same switch for the third time in as many minutes, "Just say you're as helpless as the rest of us and get it over with."

Turning in the chair and nodding with a straight face, "I'm as helpless as everyone else is."

A breath whooshed out of her, a soft hysterical chuckle escaping, "Wow...that wasn't as reassuring as I'd thought it'd be."

Standing up and gently taking her by the arms, "I'll figure this out. Somehow we will get home." Shaking his head, looking exasperated, "Even if I have to strangle John to do it-..."

"Jack!"

They both rushed to join Ianto at a portal, he pointing out the window. A small, spherical space station loomed in the distance, a ring of metal surrounding a box-like core...it kind of looked like a boxed version of Saturn. There were ships, big ones and small ones of all manner of sizes surrounding it, docking up against the metallic ring. Rhys was looking over his shoulder, his eyes getting bigger, "Bloody hell...would you look at that."

Jack rushed back to the controls, looking over the monitor to see if the computer was set for the station. Crowing in happy glee, throwing all of them a winning smile and watching them relax, "That's our destination! We're almost there, kids."

***

Rose squinted to herself, thinking as she sat against the wall, facing out to the only door in her little room. All she could think at the moment was bored. No company to pass the time. Nothing to read. No telly. Just a small glass wall that led to a plain corridor. She'd gone to sleep getting a massage and had woken up here. Alone. Her clothes back on her body. The least they could do is give her pen and paper or something to keep herself occupied. A nice word search even. Something. They even took her super phone so there was no calling her mom up for a chat. Although, that was smart of them because she'd just use it to call TARDIS, "Roll out the barrel, we'll have a barrel of fun. Roll out the barrel, we've got the blue's on the-..."

She stopped herself, realizing she was singing pub songs. A grin spread across her face, remembering when she'd been 18 and had followed Mickey to the pub to celebrate her birthday. The entire pub singing it in the late hours of the night after a few too many and a good match on the telly. That's what happens to hanging out with Mickey on nights and weekends, which was pretty much the entirety of her life up until the Doctor. She frowned a bit now, realizing she hadn't talked to Mickey in quite a bit and vowed as soon as she got out of here she was giving him a ring.

She frowned a squint as the floor started to vibrate gently. An engine. Had to be. She put her hand down on the smooth, tiled floor and felt the vibrations tickle her hand. She had to be on a ship of some kind. And that complicated matters. How was the Doctor supposed to find her on some random ship, deep in space? But then she shook her head. No, he'd find her. He always did. She rubbed a hand over her stomach, feeling almost sorry for whoever had kidnaped her. Nothing scarier than a protective, daddy Timelord and by the time he found her he was going to be furious.

Sighing, she started to unbraid her hair for the thousandth time, one strand at a time. She had more than a dozen in her hair but this was what she was reduced to. _Doctor?_ She pursed her lips in frustration, not able to hear him and she couldn't even feel him. Just like when she had to leave him and Dien behind. So either they had some way of blocking telepathy from her little cell, or he was too far away. Shaking her head and sighing, she started re-braiding her hair again and hummed a bit as she did so.

But the sound of approaching feet caught her attention and with a frown she climbed awkwardly to her feet. The glass door whooshed open, three shadows towering over her, "Take her for compatibility measurement." She raised an eyebrow and planted both feet.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jack grinned to himself, taking in the pulsing music and the familiar throngs of writhing bodies. It seemed like forever but it was hard to deny that this was the world he'd grown up in. Well, it would be more accurate to say this was the time he'd grown up in. When he'd last been here in less than thirty seconds you could land a partner or two for a night of pleasurable debauchery. But his grin slowly slipped as he noted the mixing of different alien races and human didn't seem to be one of them. It wasn't completely unheard of for base stations not to have humans on them, it was just really rare.

"Jack?"

Pasting his cocky grin back on, "Just stick together, try not to stare...and definitely don't eat anything I haven't given you...I'll be back." He took in the half panicked faces and gave Gwen's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "Hey, you're in my world now. Just relax, alright?" She swallowed and nodded, threading her finger's through Rhys' and the two of them finding comfort in one another who leaned against her shoulder.

Rhys stared after Jack in confusion, "What's he mean by his world?" Gwen mentally groaned.

Venturing over to the bar as Gwen and the others still openly gawked at the creatures here, he put on his usual charm. The barkeep was male, slim and golden skinned with several tentacles. Gorgeous, even by Blak standards, "What'll you have?"

"Hyper vodka, and an answer."

The bartender shrugged gracefully, a tentacle reaching out and wrapping around a bottle, "Drinks are free, information isn't."

Jack's fingers casually danced across the slippery flesh, "Have something in mind?" The creature sent Jack a hard look, evaluating him. The giving and taking of information may not require money changing hands but it was still an exchange of seduction and flirtation. Not many could stomach the texture of a Blak's skin so many that were just seeking information would try to bluff their way through the dance. Jack's expression was open and flirty, the offer genuine, and a slow smile spread across it's face.

Across the dance floor, Rhys was a cross between fascinated and horrified, "I think I've been a reasonable sport up till now but this...this is a bit much." He was staring at a couple who were intimately entwined in a way that couldn't be mistaken for anything else, "That's just...wrong..."

Gwen giggled and leaned into his ear, "Wanna go out there and give 'em a run for their money?" He shot her a glare and her humor slipped, sighing softly, "I'm sorry, alright?" Then she shook herself out, meeting his gaze, "We're stuck here for a while so let's make the best of it."

He relaxed and nodded reluctantly. It wasn't her fault, no matter what her job was. Ianto nudged her shoulder, "I wouldn't try the entre if I were you."

They both looked at what appeared to be a platter of live beetles being passed around and looked decidedly ill at one another. That look was compounded when Jack casually selected one and popped it in his mouth as he joined them. Everyone backed up a step while he frowned at them, "What?"

Gwen ducked her head just a little, letting her hair obscure her expression so she could grimace. Ianto wasn't quite so subtle in his and Rhys flinched away from him in disgust. He gave them all a patient sigh, "I've found out a couple of things." Jerking his head to the right, "Come on."

He sent a wave to the bartender as they exited through the open doorway and back down the domed corridor to the hatch where their ship was docked. He tapped on the computer console next to the hatch and typed in the clearance code the bartender had given him. On the screen a picture of a species he wasn't all that familiar with popped on the screen. Dakelian. It was rather tall from what he could tell, yellowish in color with no hair on it's body but other than that humanoid in appearance, "What is that?"

Glancing at Gwen, "It's something called a Dakelian and apparently it's at war with the human race."

Rhys frowned, "What'd we do?"

Jack crossed his arms, "That is the question of the hour, isn't it? They're very big, very tall, and they're not from around here." And mentally he jotted down that they had two hearts. A rather rare occurrence that he only knew of one other species possessing, at least in this galaxy.

Gwen glanced at Ianto, "Where are we, Jack? Or should I ask when?"

Rhys gave her a startled look, "When...what?"

Jack slowly nodded, tapping on another series of buttons. Numbers flashed in the right hand corner and he sighed, "Alright, kids, it's January 18, 5112 by Earth calendar." Jaws gaped all around, even as Gwen and Ianto turned to give the station a secondary glance.

"Jack." The former time agent whipped around as he sensed what Gwen had spotted, seeing a young woman leaning against the station's hull and eyeing them with a curious if appraising glance. She was medium height, slender as can be, curled brown hair framing her face and piercing blue eyes looking them all over, "Friend of your's?"

This from Gwen, although Jack didn't pay her any mind as he grinned, "Not yet."

"As in Jack Harkness?"

Turning on the charm as effortlessly as breathing, "Well, hello."

She rolled her eyes at him, "Hi." Then she crooked a finger and turned around, walking further down the corridor while shaking her head, "Even worse than I thought." With curious glances they followed behind Jack, past three hatches before she disappeared down a fourth.

Gwen hissed at him as he prepared to walk inside without hesitation, "Jack. Is that really such a good idea?"

He gave her a crooked grin, "Probably not but what's the worst she could do? Kill me?"

He gave her a cocky grin since they all knew, except Rhys, that was impossible before slipping inside. Rhys shook his head and grumbled, "Yeah, that's kinda the worst someone can do...Gwen, you sure your boss isn't insane or something?"

Gwen frowned to herself before shaking her head, "It's difficult to...Jack's very well protected. You might even say he can bounce back from...just about anything."

Rhys gave her a strained look, "You're following him in there, aren't you?" Almost apologetically she nodded and he sighed. Loyal to the core she was, and it didn't take a genius to see it was more than just a devotion to work that drove her. She loved Jack. He knew it and he wasn't entirely sure if he made her choose between himself and Jack if he'd be the winner. It made him jealous as hell but strangely secure in their relationship. After all, she had chosen him as her husband, "Right. Let's go, then." Another series of questioning looks at one another even as Ianto slipped his handgun out of it's clip. Gwen left her's be, Rhys side by side with her as they followed behind Jack with Ianto taking up the rear.

The cockpit was a medium size, cut off by a closed hatchway so most definitely a larger ship than the one they'd been traveling in. The ceiling was low but this mysterious woman was the only one there, tapping on a few buttons to one of many machines, "It's not often you see a bunch of humans just wandering around." She glanced up to send him a piercing glance, "You'd think you wanted to get captured."

Jack shrugged, taking the lead, "Not really, I'm just not at war with anybody."

Smirking, "You may not be but the Dakelians are. They spot you and they'll make prisoners out of you without thinking twice about it." Turning back to her console, "Actually, you're just lucky this particular barge is a traveling one...the Dakelians usually have a hard time finding it."

Gwen frowned, "Why? Wouldn't that be bad for business?"

"Not unless you're the one they're trying to avoid." She shrugged, dismissive, "Not my problem really."

Actually, her attitude was a little too dismissive. Jack gave her another glance, "You're not human?"

Another smirk, "Give the berk a biscuit." Gwen snorted, "Only a quarter human and they don't count that."

She shrugged her shoulders and turned her attention to another machine. Deciding to get a feel for her, throwing out the hope that John was as well known in the 52nd Century as he was in the 51st, "I'm looking for someone. John. John Hart. He owns a ship-..."

"I saw it." That made Jack give her a more wary look. How was she aware of which ship they were from and why would she keep tabs on them? Maybe this war with the Dakelians had produced bounty hunters. If so, he and the rest of his crew could be in real danger from anyone treasure seeking, turning them over to the enemy for a few quid. Except she knew his assumed name from the twentieth century, and that was something that only a handful from that time knew. She snorted to herself, "That useless piece of space dust. That series was outmoded more than thirty years ago. Friend, I hate to tell you but if he's human, he's dead."

Jack clenched his jaw. The only thing he could see killing John would be natural causes. It was simply too hard to kill the man otherwise, "He's not dead."

Shrugging, "Then he's a slave. Same difference." She sighed, "Look, just find a humanoid population and fade into the background...it's all any of you can do now." Shrugging again, "I'll give you a lift if you want..."

Jack frowned further, backing away, "No thanks." His tone was flat. Firm. She gave him a longer glance.

Her expression lost a little of it's edge, "I'm not working for them."

"Then why were you keeping track of us?"

She shook her head to herself, grinning, "Notice that, did you?" When his tension didn't ease she sighed to herself, scratching her chin absently with two fingers, "Because he sent me to find you."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Dakelian fleet was both work and home to the entire Dakelian race. There were no homeless. There were no unemployed. To lose your station was to lose your life. The race itself was divided based on the class they were born under. Those of the warrior caste tended to be taller and well muscled. Both male and female, their armor decorated as they progressed through the ranks. The smaller, slighter of the caste were the scientists and the engineers. Yet intellect did not rule their species. The militia ruled, and one man specifically of that caste. The Commander General.

On the bridge, which was divided into two sections, on one side a crew of Dakelian warriors were hard at work at their various posts. Along the center a walkway divided the other side where a single Dakelian stared hard at a holographic representation of Earth. He looked just like any other Dakelian male, with the one exception of dark brown spots along his yellowish skin, betraying his age. He was dressed in full battle armor, they all were, with several notches carved into the metallic breastplate, signifying of the leading rank.

Ar'tel focused completely on studying the little blue and green planet. They had enough power to crush every last human in the galaxy, if not the universe, and the only thing standing in his way was a simple custom blockade. Irritating that all of his plans for revenge must be delayed so long. Waiting for the technology for these ships to be acquired. Waiting even longer just to travel this far. But now, he was close. He could feel it. Soon the generations unto infinity that had perished with their destroyed home would finally be avenged.

"Sir, I've discovered something...unusual."

Well, that sounded promising. Not moving his eyes away from his study since it was just one of the science caste. Fourth level technician or not, "Unusual?"

There was slight irritation in her voice, fairly bold in his opinion since her kind were not of the warrior class but a much more expendable class that he liked to think of as perishables, "Yes, sir." She adjusted the data in her hands nervously, "Sir, on a routine patrol we happened across a lone female."

Since all orders went through him he was well aware of this. Snapping at her in irritation when she didn't continue. He had no interest in melodramatics, "And?"

She backed up a step, fearful now since it never took much for the warrior class to lash out with a weapon, provoked or not, "Yes, sir, uh, we performed the standard test for compatibility with the engine core-..."

He turned at this, his expression surprised, "Pregnant?" Adult humans were more useful in other areas but human young were perfect for their engines.

Nodding rapidly, "Yes, sir, within the last month of gestation it would appear."

Now that was a surprise. Every so often they would come across a lone human here or there but those that were already pregnant were a rare find. Waving a dismissive hand, turning back to the hologram, "So put her in with the breeders." There was an entire section of the ship designated for the care of pregnant females.

Nibbling on her lower lip lightly, "That's just the thing, sir. It's the genetics of the fetus that surprised us." He turned fully, arms crossing and not saying a word. Swallowing nervously, presenting her data, "As you can see, sir, we did genetic typing down to the last chromosome and-..."

"I have no interest in the biology so just spit it out."

Back snapping straight, "The DNA is a cross breed of two species, sir."

"Interesting." Interesting and useless information. So what if she was carrying a hybrid.

Nodding eagerly, "Yes, sir, from what we can determine the embryos are only 23.65% human."

Narrowing his eyes, "I thought the female was human."

"She is, sir, apparently the male's DNA is extremely...er, aggressive, domineering over many of the human aspects." He just waited, "The other 76.35% is...Timelord DNA."

Eyes sharpening, "You're certain? A Timelord's child?"

Nodding quickly, "Yes, sir, quite certain. Dual hearts and-..."

A shark-like grin spread across his face, "Can we ascertain if they're his children?"

Shaking her head this time, not liking that he was constantly interrupting her but Ara'de wasn't stupid enough to object, "Unfortunately we don't have the information to confirm a specific Timelord-..."

Making a slicing gesture with his hand, "It is. It has to be. He's the only one who survived. And perhaps she knows something that could help us."

Frowning, "I find it highly unlikely she'll tell us anything...sir." She hadn't been there, but she'd heard whispers of how difficult it had been just to get the girl to the engine bay and back again. Pregnant or not she'd put up a surprising fight.

"Us...no..." Smirking with self satisfaction, "And I suddenly have use for my stowaway. Commander." Commander D'man appeared post haste, standing at attention next to Ara'de, "You didn't toss the good Captain into anything permanent did you?"

Voice stiff, eyes forward, "No, sir. He's in a holding cell on level 18, sir, awaiting your orders."

Concise answers. That was why he would always prefer his caste over the other. Nodding, pleased, "Good." Pointing to Ara'de, "You'll go with him and retrieve the Captain, toss the pair of them together and see what happens..." Turning back to study his model, "I'm most curious to see what this little human girl has to say..."

The Doctor stared at the center column of his ship, impatiently waiting for the TARDIS to find her. For him he was perfectly still, the only part of him moving were his fingers as they tapped impatiently against the console. Time. Too much time on his hands. He needed to find Rose NOW and this delay was bordering on excruciating. Suddenly he desperately wanted Scholar at his side. Half Shadow Demon or not, his sister would be vicious with whoever had taken his Rose. It wasn't in him to be cruel, protective emotions or not but Scholar...he wasn't so sure about her. At the very least she could calm him down so he wouldn't be going out of his bloody mind.

The phone ringing at the console startled him and he dove for it. His brilliant mate. She must have escaped on her own and was patiently waiting for him to swoop in and pick her up. Jerking the receiver to his ear, "Ro-Jackie! H-hello, um...I, I wasn't expecting y-you to ring just yet."

"Yes, well, it's been a bloody week since I've heard from me daughter and I know how the pair of you are about time. So, put her on so I can chat her up a bit."

In one of his more brilliant moments he'd used the gateway between dimensions to patch a connection from the universal cell phone still in Jackie's possession to the TARDIS so that Rose could talk to her mother whenever she wanted. Now, he was starting to realize how much of an idiot he'd been. He'd just been showing off and when he did that it always turned around to bite him in the ass.

"Err...well, um...she's a little bit...that is I'm certain she would love to converse with you in detail about the babies' movements and such...well, that is..."

"Doctor." He gulped nervously and stopped babbling. Jackie he was convinced was psychic, able to pick up on the slightest lie. Right now her tone had turned quiet and deep, which never boded well for his continued good health, "Where is me daughter?"

Swallowing, "Where, precisely, is your daughter?" Running a hand nervously through his hair and he bought desperate seconds and prayed TARDIS would finish triangulating Rose's coordinates, "B-because I'm not certain I could give you precise coordinates. Er, that is, I could call you back with them after the TARDIS does a bit of confi-..."

"WHERE THE BLOODY HELL IS MY LITTLE GIRL, YOU DAFT GIT?"

The Doctor yelped, nearly jumping out of his skin but he didn't dare move the receiver. Blinking a little more rapidly, face shifting to that of a little boy being told off by his mum and voice quiet, "I don't know."

"WHAT?"

Babbling rapidly, "I don't know, Jackie. I don't. I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry. I'm trying to find her, I really, really am. TARDIS is working on it right now, right this second. As soon as I find her I'll bring her straight to you, I promise. Double promise. Cross both my hearts-..."

"DOCTOR." He obediently stopped talking again. A sigh. Then a larger sigh before Jackie spoke again, her voice terribly tempered which was somehow even more frightening, "You find my Rose, Doctor, or there won't be a rock in the universe that'll hide you from me."

"I know."

She huffed into the receiver, "This had better not be one of your crazy gadgets gone mad."

Looking indignant, "Oi! I didn't invent something to kidnap her."

"KIDNAP?"

He slapped the palm of his hand to his face. He'd just made it worse, knowing she was working herself up for yet another screaming match. Desperate, he held the receiver away a bit and started adjusting the transmission frequency, "Jackie?" He could hear her, fading in and out as he tweaked the signal, "Jackie, are you still there?" Flipping a toggle, making the rotor shift a fraction and causing a burst of static, "Jackie. I'm sorry, there must be some, uh...m-molecular plasma interference. Terribly sorry. I can't understand you. If you can hear me, I promise I'll get Rose back to you-...Jackie..."

He bit the bottom of his lip and after a silent moment, cut the phone off completely. He stared at the receiver for a long moment. Molecular plasma interference? Where the hell had he come up with that? He hadn't pulled something like that since he was six years old and he'd managed to turn his father's screwdriver into an ink pen. It was childish. Jackie would undoubtedly blister his ears when he came within hearing distance. So why didn't he feel the least bit guilty? He turned his attention to the TARDIS and grinned madly, impending doom with his mother-in-law forgotten. She'd found Rose.


End file.
